Rick Smith is to Gary Kubiak as Scott Pioli was to Bill Belichick. The way Belichick trusted Pioli do what Belichick wanted Pioli to do, Kubiak trust Rick Smith to do what Kubiak needs Smith to do. Smith's decisions have Kubiak's blessings.

It is not a mere coincidence that Rick Smith was an assistant GM with the Denver Broncos and knew exactly how Gary Kubiak wanted business conducted before he was hired by the Houston Texans.

It is not a coincidence that when Bob McNair stated that Bob Kraft was his friend and mentor. Bob also stated that he was using the Patriot model to build his team, that's when he hired Gary Kubiak to be his Bill Belichick and hired Rick Smith to be Gary Kubiak's Scott Pioli.